The Stranger Mortality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph). We used Matthew Ward's translation, published by Vintage International published in 1989.

Quote #1

Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours." That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday. (1.1.1)

Meursault treats his mother’s death with the same casual demeanor with which he will later treat the death of the Arab. How does this compare, though, to the way he will eventually address his own impending death?

Quote #2

That way I can be there for the vigil and come back tomorrow night. I asked my boss for two days off and there was no way he was going to refuse me with an excuse like that. But he wasn’t too happy about it. I even said, "It’s not my fault." (1.1.2)

Considering that death is the linchpin of Meursault’s big revelation at the end of the text, this is a rather casual treatment of the matter. He obviously has a long way to go. 123 pages, to be exact.